Papa John’s Launches Two Vegan Pizzas Across Costa Rica

This week, international pizza chain Papa John’s added two new vegan pizzas to 29 locations in Costa Rica. The new pizzas are Vegan Green made with Follow Your Heart (FYH) vegan mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, and chile verde; and Beyond Green which features Beyond Meat “carne,” FYH vegan mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, and chile verde. Both vegan options are priced approximately in the same range as other Papa John’s pizzas. For the launch, Papa John’s worked with Mundo Vegano, a Costa Rican vegan food importer working to help businesses incorporate plant-based foods into their menus. 

In February, Papa John’s added The Vegan Royal pizza to select locations in Chile. The pizza also features FYH cheese along with vegan “NotMeat” made by Chilean food technology startup The Not Company. FYH is also working with Papa John’s in Panama and a similar launch is expected soon. “We are so excited that our mozzarella cheese is being used at all Papa John’s locations in Costa Rica and Chile,” FYH Director of Marketing told VegNews. “Not only are we thrilled that the Follow Your Heart brand name and products continue to gain international notoriety, but this also means that vegan eating is consistently gaining traction and mainstream acceptance with consumers worldwide looking to make healthier food choices.”

Papa John’s has been modernizing its menu globally since the beginning of last year. In the United Kingdom, the chain now serves several vegan options made with Bute Island Foods’ vegan Sheese—including pizza, Marmite and Cheese Scrolls, and cheesy potato wedges—and at the beginning of 2020, hired blogger Clare Every as its first “Chief Vegan Officer” to help the chain innovate future options. In February, Papa John’s became the first fast-food chain in Spain to serve vegan pizza with the launch of Papa John’s Green menu, which features two pizzas: Papa John’s Green (topped with vegetables and vegan cheese) and Papa John’s Green PLUS (topped with vegetables, vegan cheese, and Beyond Burger meat).